By Tom Pink
If you’ve ever walked across Sault Ste. Marie’s International Bridge during the annual summer bridge walk, you may have noticed one or two crow-sized, hawkish birds squawking at you and your fellow pedestrians. Or perhaps you were lucky enough to see them speedily swoop to capture a pigeon or gull.
The raucous birds are most likely peregrine falcons, which have been nesting on the bridge superstructure since at least 1999, when they were removed from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife endangered species list after making a comeback from near extinction due to use of pesticides. Peregrines are still on Michigan’s endangered species list, but they continue to breed successfully, especially in urban areas where pigeons, one of their preys, are plentiful.
Peregrine comes from the Latin word “peregrinus” or “wanderer.” They are known for their travels as much as their speed, which approaches 200 mph when they are diving or “stooping” for food, which consists mostly of birds of varying sizes. Females are larger than males, but both have a blue-gray back, a dark head and dark streaks on their light breast.
The peregrine’s nesting efforts have been aided by the International Bridge Administration (IBA) since 2010, when they installed nesting boxes. Since then, 42 chicks have been raised in them, mostly on the U.S. side of the border. The boxes provide a safer environment than cliffside nesting sides that peregrines prefer in the wild.
Before the boxes were installed, “my understanding is that when strong winds or bad weather would happen, sometimes the eggs or young, and the very minimal nesting material that peregrine use, would be blown off the ledge,” said Kristie Sitar, wildlife biologist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Involved with banding EUP falcons for over 10 years, Sitar said peregrines are very protective of their young - clawing clothing and striking hardhats of banding staff - and female chicks tend to me more aggressive about being handled than males do.
IBA Bridge Engineer Karl Hansen would agree, noting during banding in 2021, “The mother bird refused to leave the nest this year. That was a first. The DNR staff had to gently remove her to access the young birds.”
Sitar said since it is possible for adults to abandon a nest, IBA maintenance staff take care not to disturb the nest box unless absolutely necessary.
“They have been great partners,” Sitar said.
The International Bridge isn’t the only place in Cloverland country where peregrines nest. The DNR keeps tabs on a nesting pair at the Mackinac Bridge, although those birds are not banded, and it’s likely they will nest elsewhere in the Eastern Upper Peninsula.
If you’re looking to see EUP peregrine falcons this year, you’ll probably have to wait a little longer. While some stay north with adequate food available, most migrate well south for the winter. In fact, one of the birds hatched and banded in Sault Ste. Marie in 2020 was photographed on its wintering grounds that year in the Dominican Republic.
Watch peregrines nesting and feeding their young through the IBA “Falcam” at saultbridge.com